Multiradio control interface

ABSTRACT

A system for managing the simultaneous operation of a plurality of radio modems in a single wireless communication device (WCD). The multiradio control may be integrated into the WCD as a subsystem responsible for scheduling wireless communications by temporarily enabling or disabling the plurality of radio modems within the device. The multiradio control system may comprise a multiradio controller (MRC) and a plurality dedicated radio interfaces. The radio interfaces are dedicated to quickly conveying delay sensitive information to and from the radio modems. This information may be requested by the MRC, or provided by one or more of the plurality of radio modems, if a change occurs during operation.

RELATED CASES

This Application is related to application Ser. No. ______ (AttorneyDocket Number 4208-4307), filed ______, entitled “MULTIRADIO CONTROLINTERFACE ELEMENT IN MODEM” and Application Number (Attorney DocketNumber 4208-4308), filed ______, entitled “DISTRIBUTED MULTIRADIOCONTROLLER”, both of which are assigned to Nokia Corporation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system for managing multiple radiomodems imbedded in a wireless communication device, and morespecifically to a multiradio control system for scheduling a pluralityof active radio modems so as to avoid communication conflicts.

DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

Modern society has quickly adopted, and become reliant upon, handhelddevices for wireless communication. For example, cellular telephonescontinue to proliferate in the global marketplace due to technologicalimprovements in both the quality of the communication and thefunctionality of the devices. These wireless communication devices(WCDs) have become commonplace for both personal and business use,allowing users to transmit and receive voice, text and graphical datafrom a multitude of geographic locations. The communication networksutilized by these devices span different frequencies and cover differenttransmission distances, each having strengths desirable for variousapplications.

Cellular networks facilitate WCD communication over large geographicareas. These network technologies have commonly been divided bygenerations, starting in the late 1970s to early 1980s with firstgeneration (1G) analog cellular telephones that provided baseline voicecommunications, to modern digital cellular telephones. GSM is an exampleof a widely employed 2G digital cellular network communicating in the900 MHZ/1.8 GHZ bands in Europe and at 850 MHz and 1.9 GHZ in the UnitedStates. This network provides voice communication and also supports thetransmission of textual data via the Short Messaging Service (SMS). SMSallows a WCD to transmit and receive text messages of up to 160characters, while providing data transfer to packet networks, ISDN andPOTS users at 9.6 Kbps. The Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), anenhanced messaging system allowing for the transmission of sound,graphics and video files in addition to simple text, has also becomeavailable in certain devices. Soon emerging technologies such as DigitalVideo Broadcasting for Handheld Devices (DVB-H) will make streamingdigital video, and other similar content, available via directtransmission to a WCD. While long-range communication networks like GSMare a well-accepted means for transmitting and receiving data, due tocost, traffic and legislative concerns, these networks may not beappropriate for all data applications.

Short-range wireless networks provide communication solutions that avoidsome of the problems seen in large cellular networks. Bluetooth™ is anexample of a short-range wireless technology quickly gaining acceptancein the marketplace. A Bluetooth™ enabled WCD transmits and receives dataat a rate of 720 Kbps within a range of 10 meters, and may transmit upto 100 meters with additional power boosting. A user does not activelyinstigate a Bluetooth network. Instead, a plurality of devices withinoperating range of each other will automatically form a network groupcalled a “piconet”. Any device may promote itself to the master of thepiconet, allowing it to control data exchanges with up to seven “active”slaves and 255 “parked” slaves. Active slaves exchange data based on theclock timing of the master. Parked slaves monitor a beacon signal inorder to stay synchronized with the master, and wait for an active slotto become available. These devices continually switch between variousactive communication and power saving modes in order to transmit data toother piconet members. In addition to Bluetooth™ other popularshort-range wireless networks include WLAN (of which “Wi-Fi” localaccess points communicating in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 standard,is an example), WUSB, UWB, ZigBee (802.15.4, 802.15.4a), and UHF RFID.All of these wireless mediums have features and advantages that makethem appropriate for various applications.

More recently, manufacturers have also begun to incorporate variousresources for providing enhanced functionality in WCDs (e.g., componentsand software for performing close-proximity wireless informationexchanges). Sensors and/or scanners may be used to read visual orelectronic information into a device. A transaction may involve a userholding their WCD in proximity to a target, aiming their WCD at anobject (e.g., to take a picture) or sweeping the device over a printedtag or document. Machine-readable technologies such as radio frequencyidentification (RFID), Infra-red (IR) communication, optical characterrecognition (OCR) and various other types of visual, electronic andmagnetic scanning are used to quickly input desired information into theWCD without the need for manual entry by a user.

Device manufacturers are continuing to incorporate as many of thepreviously indicated exemplary communication features as possible intowireless communication devices in an attempt to bring powerful, “do-all”devices to market. Devices incorporating long-range, short-range andmachine readable communication resources also often include multiplemediums for each category. This allows a communication device toflexibly adjust to its surroundings, for example, communicating bothwith a WLAN access point and a Bluetooth™ communication accessory,possibly at the same time.

Given the large array communications options compiled into one device,it is foreseeable that a user will want to employ a WCD to its fullpotential when replacing other productivity related devices. Forexample, a user may use a high powered WCD to replace other traditional,more cumbersome phones, computers, etc. In these situations, a WCD maybe communicating simultaneously over numerous different wirelessmediums. A user may use multiple peripheral Bluetooth™ devices (e.g., aheadset and a keyboard) while having a voice conversation over GSM andinteracting with a WLAN access point in order to access an Internetwebsite. Problems may occur when these simultaneous communications causeinterference with each other. Even if a communication medium does nothave an identical operating frequency as another medium, a radio modemmay cause extraneous interference to another medium. Further, it is alsopossible for the combined effects of two or more simultaneouslyoperating radios to create intermodulation effects to another bandwidthdue to harmonic effects. These disturbances may cause errors resultingin the required retransmission of lost packets, and the overalldegradation of performance for one or more communication mediums.

The utility of a communication device equipped with the ability tocommunicate over multiple wireless communication mediums is greatlyhindered if these communications can only be employed one at a time.Therefore, what is needed is a system to manage these variouscommunication mediums so that they can function simultaneously with anegligible impact in performance. The system should be able to identifyand understand the functionality of each wireless medium, and should beable to quickly react on changing conditions in the environment andcontrol each medium so that interference is minimized.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention includes a terminal, method, computer program,system and chipset for managing the simultaneous operation of aplurality of radio modems embedded in the same wireless communicationdevice. The operations of these radio modems may be directly controlledby a multiradio control system also integrated into the same wirelessdevice.

The multiradio control system (MCS) may include at least one multiradiocontroller (MRC). The MRC may communicate with each radio modem througheither a communication interface common to the general control system ofthe WCD (common interface), or alternatively, it may utilize aspecialized interface dedicated to transactions of the multiradiocontrol system (MCS interface). While the common interface may be usedto convey information between the MRC and the radio modems, it maysuffer from communication delays due to ordinary traffic in the mastercontrol system (e.g., traffic from multiple running applications, userinteractions, etc.). However, the MCS interfaces directly couple the MRCand communication resources of the WCD, and may allow the quicktransmission of delay sensitive operational information and controlcommands regardless of master control system traffic. Delay sensitiveinformation may be requested by the MRC, or may be provided by one ormore of the plurality of radio modems if a change occurs duringoperation.

The MRC may use both delay tolerant information received from the commoninterface system, and delay sensitive information received, in somecases, from the dedicated MCS interface system to control overallcommunications for the WCD. The MRC monitors active wirelesscommunications to determine if a potential conflict exists. In order toavoid a conflict, the MRC may schedule modems by directly enabling ordisabling them for time periods through commands issued to these radiomodems. While any or all of these commands may be sent through thecommon interface system, the MCS interface system, which is dedicatedonly to conveying delay-sensitive information, may provide a directroute between the MRC and the radio modems that is immune from anycommunication overhead caused by other transactions in the mastercontrol system.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention will be further understood from the following detaileddescription of a preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction withappended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 discloses an exemplary wireless operational environment,including wireless communication mediums of different effective range.

FIG. 2 discloses a modular description of an exemplary wirelesscommunication device usable with at least one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 discloses an exemplary structural description of the wirelesscommunication device previously described in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 discloses an exemplary operational description of a wirelesscommunication device utilizing a wireless communication medium inaccordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 discloses an operational example wherein interference occurs whenutilizing multiple radio modems simultaneously within the same wirelesscommunication device.

FIG. 6A discloses an exemplary structural description of a wirelesscommunication device including a multiradio controller in accordancewith at least one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6B discloses a more detailed structural diagram of FIG. 6Aincluding the multiradio controller and the radio modems.

FIG. 6C discloses an exemplary operational description of a wirelesscommunication device including a multiradio controller in accordancewith at least one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7A discloses an exemplary structural description of a wirelesscommunication device including a multiradio control system in accordancewith at least one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7B discloses a more detailed structural diagram of FIG. 7Aincluding the multiradio control system and the radio modems.

FIG. 7C discloses an exemplary operational description of a wirelesscommunication device including a multiradio control system in accordancewith at least one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 discloses a more specific example of the functionality describedin FIG. 7A-7C.

FIG. 9 discloses an exemplary information packet usable with at leastone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 discloses exemplary timing diagrams for wireless radio modemsusable with the present invention.

FIG. 11 discloses a flowchart explaining an exemplary process by which amultiradio controller receives information from a plurality of radiomodems in accordance with at least one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 12 discloses a flowchart explaining an exemplary process by which amultiradio controller manages a plurality of radio modems when apotential conflict exists in accordance with at least one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 13A discloses an exemplary process by which information is sentfrom a radio modem to the multiradio controller in accordance with atleast one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13B discloses an exemplary process by which information is sentfrom another radio modem to the multiradio controller in accordance withat least one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 discloses a flowchart explaining an exemplary communicationprocess in accordance with at least one embodiment of the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

While the invention has been described in preferred embodiments, variouschanges can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention, as described in the appended claims.

I. Wireless Communication Over Different Communication Networks.

A WCD may both transmit and receive information over a wide array ofwireless communication networks, each with different advantagesregarding speed, range, quality (error correction), security (encoding),etc. These characteristics will dictate the amount of information thatmay be transferred to a receiving device, and the duration of theinformation transfer. FIG. 1 includes a diagram of a WCD and how itinteracts with various types of wireless networks.

In the example pictured in FIG. 1, user 110 possesses WCD 100. Thisdevice may be anything from a basic cellular handset to a more complexdevice such as a wirelessly enabled palmtop or laptop computer. NearField Communications (NFC) 130 include various transponder-typeinteractions wherein normally only the scanning device requires its ownpower source. WCD 100 scans source 120 via short-range communications. Atransponder in source 120 may use the energy and/or clock signalcontained within the scanning signal, as in the case of RFIDcommunication, to respond with data stored in the transponder. Thesetypes of technologies usually have an effective transmission range onthe order of ten feet, and may be able to deliver stored data in amountsfrom 96 bits to over a megabit (or 125 Kbytes) relatively quickly. Thesefeatures make such technologies well suited for identification purposes,such as to receive an account number for a public transportationprovider, a key code for an automatic electronic door lock, an accountnumber for a credit or debit transaction, etc.

The transmission range between two devices may be extended if bothdevices are capable of performing powered communications. Short-rangeactive communications 140 includes applications wherein the sending andreceiving devices are both active. An exemplary situation would includeuser 1 10 coming within effective transmission range of a Bluetooth™,WLAN, UWB, WUSB, etc. access point. The amount of information to beconveyed is unlimited, except that it must all be transferred in thetime when user 110 is within effective transmission range of the accesspoint. This duration is extremely limited if the user is, for example,strolling through a shopping mall or walking down a street. Due to thehigher complexity of these wireless networks, additional time is alsorequired to establish the initial connection to WCD 100, which may beincreased if there are many devices queued for service in the areaproximate to the access point. The effective transmission range of thesenetworks depends on the technology, and may be from 32 ft. to over 300ft.

Long-range networks 150 are used to provide virtually uninterruptedcommunication coverage for WCD 100. Land-based radio stations orsatellites are used to relay various communications transactionsworldwide. While these systems are extremely functional, the use ofthese systems are often charged on a per-minute basis to user 110, notincluding additional charges for data transfer (e.g., wireless Internetaccess). Further, the regulations covering these systems causeadditional overhead for both the users and providers, making the use ofthese systems more cumbersome.

In view of the above, it becomes easy to understand the need for avariety of different communication resources combined into a single WCD.Since these types of devices are being used as replacements for avariety of conventional communications means, including land-landtelephones, low-functionality cellular handsets, laptops enabled withwireless communications, etc., the devices must be able to easily adaptto a variety of different applications (e.g., voice communications,business programs, GPS, Internet communications, etc.) in a variety ofdifferent environments (e.g. office, automobile, outdoors, arenas,shops, etc.)

II. Wireless Communication Device

As previously described, the present invention may be implemented usinga variety of wireless communication equipment. Therefore, it isimportant to understand the communication tools available to user 100before exploring the present invention. For example, in the case of acellular telephone or other handheld wireless devices, the integrateddata handling capabilities of the device play an important role infacilitating transactions between the transmitting and receivingdevices.

FIG. 2 discloses an exemplary modular layout for a wirelesscommunication device usable with the present invention. WCD 100 isbroken down into modules representing the functional aspects of thedevice. These functions may be performed by the various combinations ofsoftware and/or hardware components discussed below.

Control module 210 regulates the operation of the device. Inputs may bereceived from various other modules included within WCD 100. Forexample, interference sensing module 220 may use various techniquesknown in the art to sense sources of environmental interference withinthe effective transmission range of the wireless communication device.Control module 210 interprets these data inputs, and in response, mayissue control commands to the other modules in WCD 100.

Communications module 230 incorporates all of the communications aspectsof WCD 100. As shown in FIG. 2, communications module 230 may include,for example, long-range communications module 232, short-rangecommunications module 234 and machine-readable data module 236 (e.g.,for NFC). Communications module 230 utilizes at least these sub-modulesto receive a multitude of different types of communication from bothlocal and long distance sources, and to transmit data to recipientdevices within the transmission range of WCD 100. Communications module230 may be triggered by control module 210, or by control resourceslocal to the module responding to sensed messages, environmentalinfluences and/or other devices in proximity to WCD 100.

User interface module 240 includes visual, audible and tactile elementswhich allow the user 110 to receive data from, and enter data into, thedevice. The data entered by user 110 may be interpreted by controlmodule 210 to affect the behavior of WCD 100. User-inputted data mayalso be transmitted by communications module 230 to other devices withineffective transmission range. Other devices in transmission range mayalso send information to WCD 100 via communications module 230, andcontrol module 210 may cause this information to be transferred to userinterface module 240 for presentment to the user.

Applications module 250 incorporates all other hardware and/or softwareapplications on WCD 100. These applications may include sensors,interfaces, utilities, interpreters, data applications, etc., and may beinvoked by control module 210 to read information provided by thevarious modules and in turn supply information to requesting modules inWCD 100.

FIG. 3 discloses an exemplary structural layout of WCD 100 according toan embodiment of the present invention that may be used to implement thefunctionality of the modular system previously described in FIG. 2.Processor 300 controls overall device operation. As shown in FIG. 3,processor 300 is coupled to communications sections 310, 312, 320 and340. Processor 300 may be implemented with one or more microprocessorsthat are each capable of executing software instructions stored inmemory 330.

Memory 330 may include random access memory (RAM), read only memory(ROM), and/or flash memory, and stores information in the form of dataand software components (also referred to herein as modules). The datastored by memory 330 may be associated with particular softwarecomponents. In addition, this data may be associated with databases,such as a bookmark database or a business database for scheduling,email, etc.

The software components stored by memory 330 include instructions thatcan be executed by processor 300. Various types of software componentsmay be stored in memory 330. For instance, memory 330 may store softwarecomponents that control the operation of communication sections 310,312, 320 and 340. Memory 330 may also store software componentsincluding a firewall, a service guide manager, a bookmark database, userinterface manager, and any communications utilities modules required tosupport WCD 100.

Long-range communications 310 performs functions related to the exchangeof information over large geographic areas (such as cellular networks)via an antenna. These communication methods include technologies fromthe previously described 1G to 3G. In addition to basic voicecommunications (e.g., via GSM), long-range communications 310 mayoperate to establish data communications sessions, such as GeneralPacket Radio Service (GPRS) sessions and/or Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) sessions. Also, long-rangecommunications 310 may operate to transmit and receive messages, such asshort messaging service (SMS) messages and/or multimedia messagingservice (MMS) messages. As disclosed in FIG. 3, Long-rangecommunications 310 may be composed of one or more subsystems supportingvarious long-range communications mediums. These subsystems may, forexample, be radio modems enabled for various types of long-rangewireless communication.

As a subset of long-range communications 310, or alternatively operatingas an independent module separately connected to processor 300,broadcast receivers 312 allows WCD 100 to receive transmission messagesvia mediums such as Analog Radio, Digital Video Broadcast for HandheldDevices (DVB-H), Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), etc. Thesetransmissions may be encoded so that only certain designated receivingdevices may access the transmission content, and may contain text, audioor video information. In at least one example, WCD 100 may receive thesetransmissions and use information contained within the transmissionsignal to determine if the device is permitted to view the receivedcontent. As in the case of long-range communications 310, broadcastreceivers 312 may be comprised of one or more radio modems utilized toreceive a variety of broadcast information.

Short-range communications 320 is responsible for functions involvingthe exchange of information across short-range wireless networks. Asdescribed above and depicted in FIG. 3, examples of such short-rangecommunications 320 are not limited to Bluetooth™, WLAN, UWB, Zigbee, UHFRFID, and Wireless USB connections. Accordingly, short-rangecommunications 320 performs functions related to the establishment ofshort-range connections, as well as processing related to thetransmission and reception of information via such connections.Short-range communications 320 may be composed of one or more subsystemmade up of, for example, various radio modems employed to communicatevia the previously indicated assortment of short range wireless mediums.

Short-range input device 340, also depicted in FIG. 3, may providefunctionality related to the short-range scanning of machine-readabledata (e.g., for NFC). For example, processor 300 may control short-rangeinput device 340 to generate RF signals for activating an RFIDtransponder, and may in turn control the reception of signals from anRFID transponder. Other short-range scanning methods for readingmachine-readable data that may be supported by the short-range inputdevice 340 are not limited to IR communications, linear and 2-D (e.g.,QR) bar code readers (including processes related to interpreting UPClabels), and optical character recognition devices for reading magnetic,UV, conductive or other types of coded data that may be provided in atag using suitable ink. In order for the short-range input device 340 toscan the aforementioned types of machine-readable data, the input devicemay include a multitude of optical detectors, magnetic detectors, CCDsor other sensors known in the art for interpreting machine-readableinformation.

As further shown in FIG. 3, user interface 350 is also coupled toprocessor 300. User interface 350 facilitates the exchange ofinformation with a user. FIG. 3 shows that user interface 350 includes auser input 360 and a user output 370. User input 360 may include one ormore components that allow a user to input information. Examples of suchcomponents include keypads, touch screens, and microphones. User output370 allows a user to receive information from the device. Thus, useroutput portion 370 may include various components, such as a display,light emitting diodes (LED), tactile emitters and one or more audiospeakers. Exemplary displays include liquid crystal displays (LCDs), andother video displays.

WCD 100 may also include one or more transponders 380. This isessentially a passive device which may be programmed by processor 300with information to be delivered in response to a scan from an outsidesource. For example, an RFID scanner mounted in a entryway maycontinuously emit radio frequency waves. When a person with a devicecontaining transponder 380 walks through the door, the transponder isenergized and may respond with information identifying the device, theperson, etc.

Hardware corresponding to communications sections 310, 312, 320 and 340provide for the transmission and reception of signals. Accordingly,these portions may include components (e.g., electronics) that performfunctions, such as modulation, demodulation, amplification, andfiltering. These portions may be locally controlled, or controlled byprocessor 300 in accordance with software communications componentsstored in memory 330.

The elements shown in FIG. 3 may be constituted and coupled according tovarious techniques in order to produce the functionality described inFIG. 2. One such technique involves coupling separate hardwarecomponents corresponding to processor 300, communications sections 310,312 and 320, memory 330, short-range input device 340, user interface350, transponder 380, etc. through one or more bus interfaces.Alternatively, any and/or all of the individual components may bereplaced by an integrated circuit in the form of a programmable logicdevice, gate array, ASIC, multi-chip module, etc. programmed toreplicate the functions of the stand-alone devices. In addition, each ofthese components is coupled to a power source, such as a removableand/or rechargeable battery (not shown).

The user interface 350 may interact with a communications utilitiessoftware component, also contained in memory 330, which provides for theestablishment of service sessions using long-range communications 310and/or short-range communications 320. The communications utilitiescomponent may include various routines that allow the reception ofservices from remote devices according to mediums such as the WirelessApplication Medium (WAP), Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) variants likeCompact HTML (CHTML), etc.

III. Exemplary Operation of a Wireless Communication Device IncludingPotential Interference Problems Encountered.

FIG. 4 discloses a stack approach to understanding the operation of aWCD. At the top level 400, user 110 interacts with WCD 100. Theinteraction involves user 110 entering information via user input 360and receiving information from user output 370 in order to activatefunctionality in application level 410. In the application level,programs related to specific functionality within the device interactwith both the user and the system level. These programs includeapplications for visual information (e.g., web browser, DVB-H receiver,etc.), audio information (e.g., cellular telephone, voice mail,conferencing software, DAB or analog radio receiver, etc.), recordinginformation (e.g., digital photography software, word processing,scheduling, etc.) or other information processing. Actions initiated atapplication level 410 may require information to be sent from orreceived into WCD 100. In the example of FIG. 4, data is requested to besent to a recipient device via Bluetooth™ communication. As a result,application level 410 may then call resources in the system level toinitiate the required processing and routing of data.

System level 420 processes data requests and routes the data fortransmission. Processing may include, for example, calculation,translation, conversion and/or packetizing the data. The information maythen be routed to an appropriate communication resource in the servicelevel. If the desired communication resource is active and available inthe service level 430, the packets may be routed to a radio modem fordelivery via wireless transmission. There may be a plurality of modemsoperating using different wireless mediums. For example, in FIG. 4,modem 4 is activated and able to send packets using Bluetooth™communication. However, a radio modem (as a hardware resource) need notbe dedicated only to a specific wireless medium, and may be used fordifferent types of communication depending on the requirements of thewireless medium and the hardware characteristics of the radio modem.

FIG. 5 discloses a situation wherein the above described exemplaryoperational process may cause more than one radio modem to becomeactive. In this case, WCD 100 is both transmitting and receivinginformation via wireless communication over a multitude of mediums. WCD100 may be interacting with various secondary devices such as thosegrouped at 500. For example, these devices may include cellular handsetscommunicating via long-range wireless communication like GSM, wirelessheadsets communicating via Bluetooth™, Internet access pointscommunicating via WLAN, etc.

Problems may occur when some or all of these communications are carriedon simultaneously. As further shown in FIG. 5, multiple modems operatingsimultaneously may cause interference for each other. Such a situationmay be encountered when WCD 100 is communicating with more than oneexternal device (as previously described). In an exemplary extreme case,devices with modems simultaneously communicating via Bluetooth™, WLANand wireless USB would encounter substantial overlap since all of thesewireless mediums operate in the 2.4 GHz band. The interference, shown asan overlapping portion of the fields depicted in FIG. 5, would causepackets to be lost and the need for retransmission of these lostpackets. Retransmission requires that future time slots be used toretransmit lost information, and therefore, overall communicationsperformance will at least be reduced, if the signal is not lostcompletely. The present invention, in at least one embodiment, seeks tomanage such situations where communications are occurring simultaneouslyso that anticipated interference is minimized or totally avoided, and asa result, both speed and quality are maximized.

IV. A Wireless Communication Device Including a Multiradio Controller.

In an attempt to better manage communications in WCD 100, an additionalcontroller dedicated to managing wireless communications may beintroduced. WCD 100, as pictured in FIG. 6A, includes a multiradiocontroller (MRC) 600. MRC 600 is coupled to the master control system ofWCD 100. This coupling enables MRC 600 to communicate with radio modemsor other similar devices in communications modules 310 312, 320 and 340via the master operating system of WCD 100. While this configuration mayin some cases improve overall wireless communications efficiency for WCD100, problems may occur when WCD 100 becomes busy (e.g., when thecontrol system of WCD 100 is employed in multitasking many differentsimultaneous operations, both communications and non-communicationsrelated).

FIG. 6B discloses in detail at least one embodiment of WCD 100, whichmay include multiradio controller (MRC) 600 introduced in FIG. 6A. MRC600 includes common interface 620 by which information may be sent orreceived through master control system 640. Further, each radio modem610 or similar communication device 630, for example an RFID scanner forscanning machine-readable information, may also include some sort ofcommon interface 620 for communicating with master control system 640.As a result, all information, commands, etc. occurring between radiomodems 610, similar devices 630 and MRC 600 are conveyed by thecommunications resources of master control system 640. The possibleeffect of sharing communications resources with all the other functionalmodules within WCD 100 will be discussed with respect to FIG. 6C.

FIG. 6C discloses an operational diagram similar to FIG. 4 including theeffect of MRC 600. In this system MRC 600 may receive operational datafrom the master operating system of WCD 100, concerning for exampleapplications running in application level 410, and status data from thevarious radio communication devices in service level 430. MRC 600 mayuse this information to issue scheduling commands to the communicationdevices in service level 430 in an attempt to avoid communicationproblems. However, problems may occur when the operations of WCD 100 arefully employed. Since the various applications in application level 410,the operating system in system level 420, the communications devices inservice level 430 and MRC 600 must all share the same communicationssystem, delays may occur when all aspects of WCD 100 are trying tocommunicate on the common interface system 620. As a result, delaysensitive information regarding both communication resource statusinformation and radio modem 610 control information may become delayed,nullifying any beneficial effect from MRC 600. Therefore, a systembetter able to handle the differentiation and routing of delay sensitiveinformation is required if the beneficial effect of MRC 600 is to berealized.

V. A Wireless Communication Device Including a Multiradio ControlSystem.

FIG. 7A introduces MRC 600 as part of a multiradio control system (MCS)700 in WCD 100. MCS 700 directly links the communications resources ofmodules 310,312,320 and 340 to MRC 600. MCS 700 may provide a dedicatedlow-traffic communication structure for carrying delay sensitiveinformation both to and from MRC 600.

Additional detail is shown in FIG. 7B. MCS 700 forms a direct linkbetween MRC 600 and the communication resources of WCD 100. This linkmay be established by a system of dedicated MCS interfaces 710 and 720.For example, MCS interface 720 may be coupled to MRC 600. MCS Interfaces710 may connect radio modems 610 and other similar communicationsdevices 630 to MCS 700 in order to form an information conveyance forallowing delay sensitive information to travel to and from MRC 600. Inthis way, the abilities of MRC 600 are no longer influenced by theprocessing load of master control system 640. As a result, anyinformation still communicated by master control system 640 to and fromMRC 600 may be deemed delay tolerant, and therefore, the actual arrivaltime of this information does not substantially influence systemperformance. On the other hand, all delay sensitive information isdirected to MCS 700, and therefore is insulated from the loading of themaster control system.

The effect of MCS 700 is seen in FIG. 7C. Information may now bereceived in MRC 600 from at least two sources. System level 420 maycontinue to provide information to MRC 600 through master control system640. In addition, service level 430 may specifically provide delaysensitive information conveyed by MCS 700. MRC 600 may distinguishbetween these two classes of information and act accordingly. Delaytolerant information may include information that typically does notchange when a radio modem is actively engaged in communication, such asradio mode information (e.g., GPRS, Bluetooth™, WLAN, etc.), priorityinformation that may be defined by user settings, the specific servicethe radio is driving (QoS, real time/non real time), etc. Since delaytolerant information changes infrequently, it may be delivered in duecourse by master control system 640 of WCD 100. Alternatively, delaysensitive (or time sensitive) information includes at least modemoperational information that frequently changes during the course of awireless connection, and therefore, requires immediate update. As aresult, delay sensitive information may need to be delivered directlyfrom the plurality of radio modems 610 through the MCS interfaces 710and 720 to MRC 600, and may include radio modem synchronizationinformation. Delay sensitive information may be provided in response toa request by MRC 600, or may be delivered as a result of a change inradio modem settings during transmission, such as due to wirelesshandover or handoff.

FIG. 8 discloses a more specific example of the interaction between MRC600, MCS 700 and a radio modem 610. MRC 600 requires a bi-directionalmultipoint control interface for each radio under control. In thisexample, MCS 700 may be used to (1) Get synchronization information fromthe radio modem 610 to MRC 600, and (2) Provide radio activity controlsignals from MRC 600 to the radio modem 610 (enable/disable transmissionand/or reception). In addition, as previously stated, MCS 700 may beused to communicate radio parameters that are delay sensitive from acontrolling point of view between MRC 600 and the radio modem 610. Oneexample of parameters that may be communicated over MCS 700 is thepacket type based priority information from MRC 600 to radio modem 610.The packet type based priority information can be used, for example, toallow a WLAN modem to transmit acknowledgement type packets even thoughthe radio activity control signal is not allowing the transmission. Thispacket type based priority information is typically communicated lessfrequently than the radio activity control signals. MCS interface 710can be shared between different radio modems (multipoint) but it cannotbe shared with any other functionality that could limit the usage of MCSinterface 710 from latency point of view.

MCS 700 is used primarily to communicate the enabled/disabled radioactivity periods from MRC 600 to the radio modem 610 and in turn getsynchronization indications from the radio modems back to MRC 600. Thecontrol signals from MRC 600 that enable/disable a radio modem 610should be built on a modem's periodic events. MRC 600 gets thisinformation about a radio modem's periodic events from synchronizationindications issued by the radio modem 610. This kind of event can be,for example, frame clock event in GSM (4.615 ms), slot clock event in BT(625 us) or any multiple of these. A radio modem 610 may send its:synchronization indications when (1) MRC requests it, (2) a radio modeminternal time reference is changed (e.g. due to handover or handoff).The latency requirement for the synchronization signal is not criticalas long as the delay is constant within a few microseconds. The fixeddelays can be taken into account in MRC 600 scheduling logic.

The radio modem activity control is based on the knowledge of when theactive radio modems 610 are about to transmit (or receive) in thespecific connection mode in which the radio modems 610 are currentlyoperating. The connection mode of a radio modem 610 is mapped to thetime domain operation in MRC 600. As an example, for a GSM speechconnection, MRC 600 has knowledge about all traffic patterns of GSM.This means that MRC 600 recognizes that the speech connection in GSMincludes one transmission slot of length 577 μs, followed by an emptyslot after which is the reception slot of 577 μs, two empty slots,monitoring (RX on), two empty slots, and then it repeats. Dual transfermode means two transmission slots, empty slot, reception slot, emptyslot, monitoring and two empty slots. When all traffic patterns that areknown a priori by the MRC 600, it only needs to know when thetransmission slot occurs in time to gain knowledge of when GSM radio isactive. This information may be obtained with the radio synchronizationsignal. When the active radio modem 610 is about to transmit (orreceive) it must check every time whether the modem activity controlsignal from MRC 600 permits the communication. MRC 600 is always eitherallowing or disabling the transmission of one full radio transmissionblock (e.g. GSM slot).

An example message packet 900 is disclosed in FIG. 9. Example messagepacket 900 includes activity pattern information that may be provided byMRC 600 to radio modems 610. The data payload of packet 900 may includeat least Message ID information, allowed/disallowed transmission (Tx)period information, allowed/disallowed reception (Rx) periodinformation, Tx/Rx periodicity (how often the Tx/Rx activities containedin the period information occur), and validity information describingwhen the activity pattern becomes valid and whether the new activitypattern is replacing or added to the existing one. The data payload ofpacket 900, as shown, may consist of multiple allowed/disallowed periodsfor transmission or reception (e.g., Tx period 1, 2 . . . ) eachcontaining at least a period start time and a period end time duringwhich radio modem 610 may either be permitted or prevented fromexecuting a communication activity. The ability to include multipleallowed/disallowed periods into a single message packet 900 may supportMRC 600 in scheduling radio modem behavior for longer periods of time,which may result in a reduction in message traffic. Further, changes inradio modem 610 activity patterns may be amended using the validityinformation in each message packet 900.

The modem activity control signal (e.g., packet 900) is transmitted byMRC 600 to a specific radio modem 610. The signal may include activityperiods for Tx and Rx separately, and the periodicity of the activityfor the radio modem 610. While the native radio modem clock is thecontrolling time domain (never overwritten), the time reference utilizedin synchronizing the activity periods to current radio modem operationmay be based one of at least two standards. In a first example, atransmission period may start after a pre-defined amount ofsynchronization events have occurred in radio modem 610. Alternatively,all timing between radio modem 610 and MRC 600 may be standardizedaround the system clock for MCS 700. Advantages and disadvantages existfor both solutions. Using a defined number of modem synchronizationevents is beneficial because then all timing is closely aligned with theradio modem clock. However, this strategy may be more complicated toimplement than basing timing on the system clock. On the other hand,while timing based on the system clock may be easier to implement as atime standard, a conversion to modem clock timing must necessarily beimplemented whenever a new activity pattern is put into use in radiomodem 610.

As stated above, the activity period may be indicated as start and stoptimes. If there is only one active connection, or if there is no need toschedule the active connections, the modem activity control signal maybe set always on allowing the radio modems to operate withoutrestriction. The modem should check whether the transmission orreception is allowed before attempting the actual communication. Aresynchronization may be initiated by the radio modem 610 if thetransmission is consecutively blocked. The same happens if a radio modemtime reference or connection mode changes. A problem may occur if MRC600 runs out of the modem synchronization and starts to apply modemtransmission/reception restrictions at the wrong time. Due to this,modem synchronization signals need to be updated periodically. The morewireless connections that are active, the more accurate MRCsynchronization information needs to be.

FIG. 10 discloses a pictorial example of timing patterns between variousactive radio modems. Modems 1, 2 and 3 all have individual patterns thatindicate when a modem is actively transmitting and/or receivinginformation. One example of a period wherein a possible conflict existsis highlighted in the figure. At this point MRC 600 may act to controlvarious radio modems 610 in order to avoid the conflict. If the activityis to be restricted, MRC 600 configures the modem activity controlmessage so that activity is always denied when radio modem 610 is notallowed to transmit or receive. The restriction can last either thewhole period or just an individual transmission/reception instance. Inthe latter case, the activity can be allowed for some othertransactional instance inside the period and radio modem 610 can utilizethis to transmit (e.g. to attempt retransmission).

Radio modem 610 can indicate to MRC 600 the radio activity periods thatwere blocked due to the modem activity control message. This additionalcommunication can be as a safety procedure to ensure that MRC 600 is notcontinuously blocking the communications due to off synchronizationconditions. Radio modem 610 can switch off the transmitter/receiverevery time the modem activity control signal is not allowingcommunication. Because the modem activity control signal is transmittedin advance and it provides information about the allowed and disallowedradio transmission/reception instances in the near future, radio modem610 can prepare its operations in advance according to the activitycontrol signal. Inside the validity parameter in the activity controlmessage is a field describing whether the new message is replacing oradded to the existing activity periods, thus avoiding the need tocommunicate the full transmission/reception pattern if only minormodifications are needed to correct the operation of thetransmitter/receiver.

A flowchart describing an exemplary process where MRC 600 requestssynchronization information from a radio modem in accordance with atleast one embodiment of the present invention is disclosed in FIG. 11.In step 1102, the application layer of WCD 100 triggers activation of acommunication service. This activation may occur, for instance, due to amanual intervention by user 110 directly activating the communicationservice, or may instead be triggered indirectly by an applicationcurrently being manipulated by user 110. WCD 100 may then activate theservice in step 1104. Various subsystems of WCD 100 are notified of theservice activation, including MRC 600 (step 1106) which in turn requestsclock synchronization information from radio modem 610 via MCS 700 instep 1108. The synchronization request remains active until MRC 600 hasreceived the signal and is synchronized (step 1110). In step 1112, MRC600 monitors for other radio modem activations, wherein asynchronization signal would need to be requested, or for changes inexisting modem behavior. A detected change in radio modem behavior, forexample during a handover or handoff, would be detected due to radiomodem 610 itself prompting the delivery of synchronization informationin step 1114, and so new synchronization information is delivered to MRC600.

FIG. 12 includes an example of a process wherein MRC 600 monitors activeradio modems and implements scheduling in order to avoid conflicts. Instep 1202, MRC 600 monitors a plurality of active radio modems. Duringthis monitoring, MRC 700 may further recognize that at least some of theplurality of modems are about to act simultaneously which may result ina potential conflict (steps 1204 and 1206). MRC 600, which hashierarchical information about the various mediums serviced by the radiomodems, may then prioritize the radio modems in order to determine whichmodems to disable (step 1208). In step 1210, MRC 600 transmits disablecommands to various modems, essentially pausing the activity of thesemodems over designated time periods in order to avoid potentialconflicts. This information may also be transmitted to the mastercontrol system in step 1212 in order to notify of temporary delays dueto conflict avoidance, which might otherwise be deemed to be radio modeminoperability. Finally, in step 1214, MRC 600 reactivates all modemsonce the potential conflict has passed, and resumes monitoring forpossible communication conflicts.

VI. Method for Sending Information Over the MCS Interface.

An example of at least one embodiment of the process by whichcommunications are managed in MCS 700 is disclosed in FIG. 13A. In thisexample, two radio modems 610 are interacting with MRC 600. Radio modem1 is actively transmitting information on MCS 700. Radio modem 2 alsohas information to deliver, but is monitoring MCS 700 through its MCSinterface 710 in order to determine when communications becomeavailable. While the following examples use the specific elements of thepresent invention to describe a process of delay-sensitivecommunication, this communication method may be employed or implementedin any application wherein information that is time or delay sensitivemust be correlated to a specific instance of creation regardless of theactual time of receipt.

MCS 700 may be implemented utilizing a variety of bus structures,including the I²C interface commonly found in portable electronicdevices, as well as emerging standards such as SLIMbus that are nowunder development. I²C is a multi-master bus, wherein multiple devicescan be connected to the same bus and each one can act as a master byinitiating a data transfer. An I²C bus contains at least twocommunication lines, an information line and a clock line. When a devicehas information to transmit, it assumes a master role and transmits bothits clock signal and information to a recipient device. SLIMbus, on theother hand, utilizes a separate, non-differential physical layer thatruns at rates of 50 Mbits/s or slower over just one lane. It is beingdeveloped by the Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) Alliance toreplace today's I²C and I²S interfaces while offering more features andrequiring the same or less power than the two combined. In an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention using the I²C interface, any of thedevices on MCS 700 may initiate communication with another device, withthe clock signal correlated to radio modem 610, as previously indicated(so as not to alter or disrupt the timing of the radio modems), thesystem clock, or an internal clock synchronized using one of the twoprevious standards.

In FIG. 1 3A, radio modem 1 is transmitting delay sensitive statusinformation to MRC 600. Radio modem 1 may initially check MCS 700 todetermine availability. After verifying that MCS 700 is free forcommunication, radio modem 1 may begin generating a clock signal to thecommunication bus and initiate message transmission to MRC 600. In thepresent example, four (4) clock pulses after the transmission commencesradio modem 1 receives confirmation from MRC 600 that the full messagehas been received (“message complete”). FIG. 13A shows that it took atotal duration of four (4) clock pulses to transmit the message, whichis appended to the end of the received message (shown as the value “4”under “count”).

However, the message received from radio modem 1 has not yet beenprocessed in MRC 600. In some cases, MRC 600 may be busy with othertasks and may not be available to immediately process a receivedmessage. The counter in MRC 600 may reset upon message receipt and willthen resume counting based on the clock signal generated by radio modem1 (or, for example, by its own internal clock) until the message is ableto be processed. An additional five (5) counts occur before MRC 600completes the prior task(s) and becomes available to process thereceived message. This waiting count is also appended to the messagebefore processing. The purpose of appending the various count values tothe received message is to allow MRC 600 to determine when the messagewas first created with respect to the clock signal provided by radiomodem 1. As previously indicated, the received message is timesensitive, and therefore, it may be important for MRC 600 to determinethe initial creation time of the message so that an appropriate response(e.g., an activity control message to modem 1) may be composed and sent.

Radio modem 2 also has information to transmit to MRC 600. However,radio modem 1 is currently occupying MCS 700, and so radio modem 2 mustwait for MCS 700 to become available. At the instant that radio modem 2has a message to send, its internal clock and delay counter may start.This clock signal will not be broadcast on MCS 700. Instead, modem 2will internally track the time that passes (e.g., by counting the clockpulses) until the radio modem 2 can transmit, which is further depictedin FIG. 13B.

In FIG. 13B, radio modem 1 has completed communications on MCS 700,allowing radio modem 2 to utilize MCS interface 710 to communicate onMCS 700. As soon as the bus becomes available, radio modem 2 may appendthe delay counter value to the outgoing message packet. In the figure,“118” has initially been appended to the message to represent the timethat radio modem 2 waited from the time of message creation until MCS700 became available. Now that MCS 700 is available, radio modem 2 maytransmit a message to MRC 600. In the present example, a confirmation ofreceipt message is received in radio modem 2 after three (3) counts. Asa result, “3” is also appended to the message received in MRC 600. Asexplained above, MRC 600 will, in some instances, be occupied with othertasks that delay the processing of the message received from radio modem2. In this example an additional four (4) counts are recorded before themessage can be processed by MRC 600, and this additional value is alsoappended to the message before processing. MRC 600 may use the appendedcount information, along with the clock signal provided by radio modem2, to determine when the message was originally created by the radiomodem.

The information provided by radio modems 1 and 2 above is considered byMRC 600 in view of priority policies and/or rules when determining anappropriate operational schedule for each of the plurality of radiomodems 610 in WCD 100. Once an operational schedule is determined, MRC600 may respond to any or all of radio modems 610 with various activitycontrol messages based on the timing of each radio modem. A controlmessage initiated by MRC 700 to any of the radio modems 610 may use theclock values previously recorded from the radio modem status messagesdescribed above, or alternatively, MRC 600 may request an updated clockvalue from a radio modem 610 in order to reorient its internal timing.

While a transaction wherein a radio modem 610 transmits time sensitiveinformation to MRC 600 has been previously described, communicationtraveling in the other direction is also anticipated by the presentinvention. In an exemplary case where MRC 600 has information to send toone or more radio modems 610 (e.g., activity control information, arequest for synchronization, etc.) MRC 600 may initiate communicationsto any other device on MCS 700 using MCS interface 720. The creation ofa message may trigger delay and/or transmission counters that accumulateuntil a “message complete” acknowledgement is received from the targetdevice. The counter information may be appended to the message at eachstage of message transmission. In this way, a recipient device candetermine when the message was originally created in view of delays suchas MCS 700 being occupied by other communication traffic, retransmissionof the message due to a communication error, etc.

FIG. 14 discloses an exemplary flowchart detailing an MCS communicationprocess in accordance with at least one embodiment of the presentinvention. In step 1400, the communication logic of a transmittingdevice receives notification of data to be transmitted to another devicethrough MCS 700. The transmitting device may then begin to generate aclock signal (step 1402). In step 1404, the transmitting devicedetermines whether MCS 700 is available If the communication bus isoccupied, then the transmitting device does not broadcast its clocksignal, but starts a delay timer in step 1406 to record the time spentwaiting for MCS 700 to become available. When MCS 700 is free, the delaytimer value may then be appended to the message packet by thetransmitting device, and if the message is successfully transmitted andan acknowledgement as received, the counter can be reset (step 1408). Incases where MCS 700 is immediately available, the delay timer value willoften be zero (0). The transmitting device may then initiate sending themessage to MRC 600. A counter in the receiving device may start countingin step 1410 until a “message complete” confirmation is received fromthe destination receiving device in step 1412. When the confirmation isreceived at the destination device, the current value of the counter inreceiving device is appended to the received message representing thetime it took to transmit the message, and then the counter may reset forthe next event (step 1414).

In step 1416 a waiting counter begins to keep track of the durationstarting from the time the message is successfully received in thereceiving device until the time the message is processed. The receivingdevice may be occupied with other tasks that must be completed beforeprocessing the received message. The waiting counter will continue toaccumulate counts until the receiving device (e.g., the software furtherprocessing the received message) is available (step 1418). When thereceiving device is available, the value of the waiting timer is eitherappended to the received message before processing, or the software canread the counter value directly from the counter in step 1420. As aresult of this process, three timer values (the delay timer, thetransmission timer and the waiting timer) may be considered by thereceiving device when determining the original creation time of themessage in view of the clock signal provided by the sending device (step1422). The transmission timer and the waiting timer can be physicallythe same units since both may be located in MRC 600 and not accumulatedsimultaneously. The process then starts over at step 1400 when a deviceon MCS 700 has another message to transmit.

The present invention is an improvement over the state of the art. Themultipoint control system of the present invention allows a device witha plurality of active radio modems to efficiently manage communicationsbetween these modems in order to avoid potential communicationconflicts. This scheduling of wireless communication resources allows awireless communication device to function in a fully enabled modewithout experiencing communication quality degradation due to theconstant retransmission of lost packets. The result is a fully enabledwireless communication device that satisfies user expectations becauseinteractivity does not suffer as the device is fully deployed in morecomplex applications.

Accordingly, it will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant artthat various changes in form a and detail can be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. The breadth andscope of the present invention should not be limited by any of theabove-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only inaccordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

1. A terminal device enabled to avoid communication conflicts between aplurality of active radio modems integrated within the terminal device,comprising: a master control system for controlling the generaloperation of the terminal device; a plurality of radio modems; and amultiradio control system for concurrently managing the plurality ofradio modems, the multiradio control system including: a multiradiocontroller, coupled to at least the master control system, for receivingdelay tolerant information from the master control system andcontrolling operation of the plurality of radio modems; a plurality ofradio modem interface modules, coupled to each of the plurality of radiomodems and the multiradio controller, wherein the modem interfacemodules relay delay sensitive information from the plurality of radiomodems for delivery to the multiradio controller through a directphysical interface dedicated for providing fast connection forcommunicating delay sensitive information, and relay commands receivedthrough the direct physical interface from the multiradio controller tothe radio modems.
 2. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein theterminal device is at least one of a cellular telephone, a personaldigital assistant or a palmtop computer.
 3. The terminal device of claim1, wherein the multiradio controller, the radio modem interface modulesand the radio modems are all separate integrated circuits.
 4. Theterminal device of claim 1, wherein each radio modem is integrated witha radio modem interface module.
 5. The terminal device of claim 1,wherein the delay tolerant information includes radio modemconfiguration information that does not change during a radio modemconnection; and the delay sensitive information includes at leastinformation related to radio modem clock synchronization and radio modemactivity control messages containing at least one or moreallowed/disallowed communication periods for a radio modem.
 6. Theterminal device of claim 1, wherein the multiradio controller determineswhether received information is delay sensitive or delay tolerantinformation.
 7. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the multiradiocontroller correlates the delay sensitive information to a time oforiginal creation.
 8. The terminal device of claim 7, wherein the timeof original creation is correlated by appending a count value of one ormore timers that record the execution time of various delay sensitivemessage transmission phases to the end of a delay sensitive messagepacket.
 9. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the multiradiocontroller uses the delay sensitive information and the delay tolerantinformation to schedule any or all of the plurality of radio modems inorder to avoid communication conflicts between actively communicatingradio modems.
 10. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the multiradiocontroller requests synchronization data from any or all of theplurality of radio modems through the radio modem interface modules. 11.The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the commands from the multiradiocontroller are based on the delay tolerant information and delaysensitive information.
 12. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein thecommands are enable or disable instructions for temporarily changing thebehavior of any or all of the plurality of radio modems.
 13. A methodfor avoiding communication conflicts between a plurality of active radiomodems integrated within the terminal device, comprising: controllingthe general operation of the terminal device with a master controlsystem; concurrently managing a plurality of radio modems with amultiradio control system, the multiradio control system including: amultiradio controller, coupled to at least the master control system,for receiving delay tolerant information from the master control systemand controlling operation of the plurality of radio modems; a pluralityof radio modem interface modules, coupled to each of the plurality ofradio modems and the multiradio controller, wherein the modem interfacemodules relay delay sensitive information from the plurality of radiomodems for delivery to the multiradio controller through a directphysical interface dedicated for providing fast connection forcommunicating delay sensitive information, and relay commands receivedthrough the direct physical interface from the multiradio controller tothe radio modems.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the delay tolerantinformation includes radio modem configuration information that does notchange during a radio modem connection; and the delay sensitiveinformation includes at least information related to radio modem clocksynchronization and radio modem activity control messages containing atleast one or more allowed/disallowed communication periods for a radiomodem.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the multiradio controllerdetermines whether received information is delay sensitive or delaytolerant information.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein the multiradiocontroller correlates the delay sensitive information to a time oforiginal creation.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the time oforiginal creation is correlated by appending a count value of one ormore timers that record the execution time of various delay sensitivemessage transmission phases to the end of a delay sensitive messagepacket.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein the multiradio controlleruses the delay sensitive information and the delay tolerant informationto schedule any or all of the plurality of radio modems in order toavoid communication conflicts between actively communicating radiomodems.
 19. The method of claim 13, wherein the multiradio controllerrequests synchronization data from any or all of the plurality of radiomodems through the radio modem interface modules.
 20. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the commands from the multiradio controller are basedon the delay tolerant information and delay sensitive information. 21.The method of claim 13, wherein the commands are enable or disableinstructions for temporarily changing the behavior of any or all of theplurality of radio modems.
 22. A computer program product comprising acomputer usable medium having computer readable program code embodied insaid medium for avoiding communication conflicts between a plurality ofactive radio modems integrated within the terminal device, comprising: acomputer readable program code for controlling the general operation ofthe terminal device with a master control system; a computer readableprogram code for concurrently managing a plurality of radio modems witha multiradio control system, the multiradio control system including: amultiradio controller, coupled to at least the master control system,for receiving delay tolerant information from the master control systemand controlling operation of the plurality of radio modems; a pluralityof radio modem interface modules, coupled to each of the plurality ofradio modems and the multiradio controller, wherein the modem interfacemodules relay delay sensitive information from the plurality of radiomodems for delivery to the multiradio controller through a directphysical interface dedicated for providing fast connection forcommunicating delay sensitive information, and relay commands receivedthrough the direct physical interface from the multiradio controller tothe radio modems.
 23. The computer program product of claim 22, whereinthe delay tolerant information includes radio modem configurationinformation that does not change during a radio modem connection; andthe delay sensitive information includes at least information related toradio modem clock synchronization and radio modem activity controlmessages containing at least one or more allowed/disallowedcommunication periods for a radio modem.
 24. The computer programproduct of claim 22, wherein the multiradio controller determineswhether received information is delay sensitive or delay tolerantinformation.
 25. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein themultiradio controller correlates the delay sensitive information to atime of original creation.
 26. The computer program product of claim 25,wherein the time of original creation is correlated by appending a countvalue of one or more timers that record the execution time of variousdelay sensitive message transmission phases to the end of a delaysensitive message packet.
 27. The computer program product of claim 22,wherein the multiradio controller uses the delay sensitive informationand the delay tolerant information to schedule any or all of theplurality of radio modems in order to avoid communication conflictsbetween actively communicating radio modems.
 28. The computer programproduct of claim 22, wherein the multiradio controller requestssynchronization data from any or all of the plurality of radio modemsthrough the radio modem interface modules.
 29. The computer programproduct of claim 22, wherein the commands from the multiradio controllerare based on the delay tolerant information and delay sensitiveinformation.
 30. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein thecommands are enable or disable instructions for temporarily changing thebehavior of any or all of the plurality of radio modems.
 31. A systemfor avoiding communication conflicts between a plurality of active radiomodems integrated within the terminal device, comprising: a terminaldevice; a master control system contained within the terminal device forcontrolling the general operation; a plurality of radio modems containedwithin the terminal device; and a multiradio control system containedwithin the terminal device for concurrently managing the plurality ofradio modems, the multiradio control system including: a multiradiocontroller, coupled to at least the master control system, for receivingdelay tolerant information from the master control system andcontrolling operation of the plurality of radio modems; a plurality ofradio modem interface modules, coupled to each of the plurality of radiomodems and the multiradio controller, wherein the modem interfacemodules relay delay sensitive information from the plurality of radiomodems for delivery to the multiradio controller through a directphysical interface dedicated for providing fast connection forcommunicating delay sensitive information, and relay commands receivedthrough the direct physical interface from the multiradio controller tothe radio modems.
 32. The system of claim 31, wherein the multiradiocontroller correlates the delay sensitive information to a time oforiginal creation.
 33. The system of claim 32, wherein the time oforiginal creation is correlated by appending a count value of one ormore timers that record the execution time of various delay sensitivemessage transmission phases to the end of a delay sensitive messagepacket.
 34. The system of claim 31, wherein the multiradio controlleruses the delay sensitive information and the delay tolerant informationto schedule any or all of the plurality of radio modems in order toavoid communication conflicts between actively communicating radiomodems.
 35. A chipset for conveying delay sensitive information betweencomponents of a terminal device, comprising: a plurality of componentdevices coupled to a common communication interface including at leastone component device which is a controller; and the communicationinterface being composed of a plurality of interface modules, coupled toeach of the plurality of component devices and the controller, whereinthe interface modules relay delay sensitive information from thecomponent devices for delivery to the controller through a directphysical interface dedicated for providing fast connection forcommunicating delay sensitive information, and relay commands receivedthrough the direct physical interface from the controller to thecomponent devices.
 36. The chipset of claim 35, wherein thecommunication interface isolates the delay sensitive information fromother information communicated by the plurality of components and thecontroller through a master control system of the terminal device. 37.The chipset of claim 35, wherein the interface is based on an I²C busstructure.
 38. The chipset of claim 35, wherein the interface is basedon a SLIbus bus structure.
 39. A method for correlating delay-sensitiveinformation to the time of original creation, in a sending devicecomprising: creating a message packet in a sending device; initiating aclock signal in a sending device; counting, in the sending device, anumber of clock pulses from the clock signal until an interface couplingthe sending device to a receiving device becomes available; appending,when the interface becomes available, the number of clock pulses countedto the message packet in the sending device; broadcasting, from thesending device, the clock signal; sending, from the sending device, themessage packet to the receiving device using the interface; counting anumber of clock pulses until the message packet is completely receivedin the receiving device; appending the number of clock pulses counted tothe message packet received in the receiving device; counting a numberof clock pulses until a processor in the receiving device is availableto process the message packet; appending the number of clock pulsescounted to the message packet received in the receiving device;processing the message packet in the receiving device.
 40. The method ofclaim 39, wherein the message packet contains delay sensitiveoperational information about the sending device.
 41. The method ofclaim 39, wherein the sending device and receiving device are includedin the same wireless communication device.
 42. The method of claim 39,wherein the sending device and the receiving device are at least one ofa radio modem and a controller.
 43. The method of claim 39, wherein thereceiving device uses the number of clock pulses appended to the messagepacket to determine a time when the message packet was originallycreated in the sending device.
 44. The method of claim 39, wherein thereceiving device uses information contained in the message packet inorder to formulate a response to the sending device.